Special Envoy for Commonwealth Trade Integration

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced the appointment of diplomat Jeremy Clarke-Watson to the newly created role of Special Envoy for Commonwealth Trade Integration.

“Commonwealth members have increasingly expressed interest in better trade integration, and officials have advised it’s an area worth exploring. For that reason the government agreed to appoint a special envoy to work in this area,” said Mr Peters.

Mr Clarke-Watson is currently New Zealand’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador in Abu Dhabi, Mr Clarke-Watson was the Director of MFAT’s Auckland Office, and has served in Riyadh and Ha Noi. He has also worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence.

“This appointment both demonstrates our commitment to the Commonwealth’s prosperity agenda, and New Zealand’s ambition to deepen trade integration in the Commonwealth,” said Mr Peters.